Well, a couple of weeks ago, Josh bought some bananas for us, and by the end of last week, we were left with one over-ripe banana. So, instead of throwing it away, I waited for it to turn black (black bananas make the best banana bread) and I came up with a solution…

One-banana muffins. The recipe only makes a handful of these muffins, but I think that’s kind of perfect. I never like having too many muffins (or any other kind of baked good) at home because if I can’t give away at least half, I almost always end up throwing some away.

Oh, and maybe don’t be a goof like me — I forgot to add pecans to my muffins. Good grief.

One-Banana Muffins

Active Time: 10 minutesTotal Time: 40 minutesYields: 6 muffins

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1 over-ripe banana

1/8 cup chopped pecans (optional)

What to do:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line half of a 12-muffin tin with baking cups.

In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

The next few steps can be done using a standalone mixer or a handheld mixer. In a medium- to large-bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Add the egg and banana, and mix until well-combined. Mix in half of the flour mixture and combine, then add in the other half of the flour mixture and combine. The result should be a doughy mixture.

Add pecans, if desired, and mix one more time until the pecans are evenly distributed throughout the dough.

Place the dough into the six baking cups, dividing the dough evenly. Bake for 30 minutes or until muffins are golden-brown and cooked through. (Test this by sticking a toothpick into the center of a muffin. If it comes out clean, it’s cooked through.)